senior business correspondent brenda buttner joins us to give us the real scoop on that. hi, brenda. >> hey, shannon. you know, it's true with almost anything you want to buy, get it when prices are low. as far as houses go, not only are sales prices near bottom, down 30% over the past five years, but the price of the cash to finance them has never been lower. the average is six month mortgage rates continue to fall near all time record lows and the average 30-year fixed mortgage has matched or hit a new low in 10 of the last 11 weeks. on the other side of the spectrum, the one year adjustable rate is hovering at new lows, too. so get out your application and checkbook, not so fast. trouble is mortgage standards and refinancing rules are still so strict it's almost impossible to qualify. sure, car loans and credit cards are easier to get these days. but home sweet home, uh-huh. lending standards for mortgages are higher today than they were right after the financial crisis. "wall street journal" reports that 9 out of 10 of all new mortgages approved last year went to owne